


and i was so young when i behaved twenty-five

by diluc



Category: Persona 5
Genre: (kinda), Birthday Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Violence, Past Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:35:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24495124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/diluc/pseuds/diluc
Summary: The other young man smiles and laughs so innocuously something begins to stir and bubble in Akechi's heart. He is eighteen now."Happy birthday, Goro. Welcome home."Or: the chronicles of Goro Akechi's birthdays.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Kudos: 80





	and i was so young when i behaved twenty-five

**Author's Note:**

> i apologize!!!!!!!!!! this didnt take me a w hile to write because i am typing this, unbetad, at midnight june second. hap borth goro akechi i lov him  
> the lyric is from first love / late spring by mitski ofc owo

The little cake stood there, alone on the cracked wooden table. The candles weren't lit, so Goro dug up his Mama's lighter; when the room turns awash with fire, he smiles a little. Mama hasn't come home yet, and whenever she does, her legs are littered with bruises. It makes Goro sad, but he doesn't cry; who knows what will people do to him, then? Strange people whom Mama brings are never kind to Goro - but Mama is, and her warmth is more than enough for him. He squeezes his teddy bear closer to his chest and brushes long bangs away from his face; there were no friends, no relatives to celebrate with him. But it was OK, as long as he was with Mama. And soon, mama would come home.

"Happy birthday to me," he sings, his voice raspy. He thinks he caught a cold at school recently, but he doesn't go to the nurse, because then some mean kids would corner him when he left. He thinks he's got a fever, too, because his eyes feel hot and so does his head. "Happy birthday, dear Goro... happy birthday to me."

He blows away the candles and unsheathes them, one by one, gently wrapping each one in a single tissue. Mama had bought this cake for him two months ago, right in advance, because she said she got money then. Mama was always so kind to him; he cuts only two pieces, one for himself, and the other for Mama when she comes. It tastes like strawberries, or what Goro thinks they would taste like - sweet and sour, creamy and juicy. He thinks he likes it.

In his little party hat, he lies on the sofa and hugs his stuffed bear closer. Mama doesn't come that evening; he had just turned six.

* * *

"You bastard!" the man yells; a boy, his skin pallid and back hunched over, takes whatever blows his temporary guardian throws at him. He is too tired to even dodge the sloppy right-hooks; Goro bites his lips, hisses, and obeys. And obeys. And obeys. "This is for ruining my life!"  
Goro clenches his fist; he is exhausted. He can't obey anymore.

The dark circles under Goro's eyes are a wispy grey; he cannot force himself to take it. He sobs, and the man strikes his jaw, - _what are you, a sissy?_ \- so Goro takes the kitchen knife with which he had cut his cake. He frankly doesn't remember the flavor, because all of it went to the man's biological children anyway, and he didn't even get a single piece of frosting.

The man shuts up when the knife lands a mere milimeter away from his nose. Later that evening, Akechi has to lick his wounds (figuratively, of course) again. The water is running, cold and smooth on his skin, and he guesses he is lucky to at least have a shower and proper nutrition here. The last household he had spent a few years with was cockroach-infested, had dirty water pour rust all over the room, and he never saw his guardians. 

The water washes the blood away from his hands and body, but the bruises linger. His thirteenth birthday has not gone well.

* * *

"Ah-haha! Yes, thank you very much!" Akechi smiles, poised and composed, as the camera crew surrounds him in downtown Kichijoji. "It is, indeed, my birthday! I turn seventeen today. I am so very glad you have so thoughtfully given me a gift."

He does not punch or attack anyone, yet something in his gut craves the violence and the adrenalin of fights. But, he is a "detective prince" now; if he had so wanted to fight, he could always go to Mementos after school. Instead, he gives the TV crew another lopsided grin as he unpacks the present.

"This- oh, this is a cake, isn't it? Thank you very much!" it is but a single slice; Akechi didn't have to eat anything he had found now, so he would normally be a tad more picky concerning his dietary supplements and choices. This, however, is for the national television; he must make all the teenage girls squee in delight, imagining themselves bringing him gifts, and he must make all filthy, rotten adults nod his head at his antics, calling him a good kid. This is the only thing he must do. This is the only accomplishment that would lead, eventually, to the destruction of Shido; so he gets the little reusable fork he has in his bag - _"well, I wouldn't use plastic utensils, even though I do love food! It harms the environment, after all,"_ \- and stabs the cake a little. Taking a bite, he comes to realize it does not taste like anything in particular; it is but a bland piece of pastry. Might have been a piece of cardboard, even.

"Mhhm! This is delicious, thank you so much! Oh, I have a sweet tooth. Haha!"

* * *

"Akechi-kun," a curly young man speaks to him, "isn't it your birthday?"

Goro doesn't reply. He thought he and Amamiya were way past these pretenses, as though they were just a detective prince and an unassuming barista. But they were not neither Crow nor Joker anymore, and that addled him further. How was he now to address this man? Was he to kill him? Was he to-

Ren slides him a cup of coffee. It is creamy and yet not too milky, but frothy and bitter, just the way Akechi likes it; a Kilimanjaro roast, if he had to guess. It scared him, sometimes, how close the two of them have grown. And yet, then again, they do share an apartment and a bed. "Yes, it's my birthday. Thanks for the consideration." His tone is husky and emotionless; he is way past pretending to be what he is not.

He catches Amamiya staring at him through the fogged, thick lenses of his glasses. There is something in his gaze Goro cannot read into, and it annoys him to no end. "Why stare at me so?"  
"You're pretty," Ren says shamelessly.  
"Flattery will get you nowhere."  
"Aw, but you know it's not," he grins, twirling a stray lock around his index finger as spoiled children do. Having woken up later in the morning, Goro was rather surprised to see his roommate up so early. "Besides, we've got a gift for you."

_We?_

"Happy birthday!" 

Confetti and party poppers fly around in the air, all amidst a very confused Akechi. Futaba jumps from behind the sofa, Morgana on her shoulders, as she grins deviously and laughs; Kitagawa and Sakamoto pop up from the curtains; both have party hats on, and they are painted rather distinctively - must be the former's work. Niijima beams awkwardly from beside Takamaki, who is, in turn, passing a suspicious-looking bag to Amamiya. Okumura emerges, too, a small smile plastered on her lips; Sumire follows suit to Sakura, nearly jumping on the ginger girl's back as they laugh the situation away. 

"Why?"  
"Hm?"

Akechi is stunned. Something inside him wants to kick these people out, wants to murder Joker savagely; the other wants to caress Ren's cheek and smile, eagerly, at the guests. He has no idea what do these conflicted emotions even mean - it is all for he has never felt a sentiment as foolish, as _human_ as this. How annoying. "Why did you do this for me?"

"Akechi-kun, no matter what you say, you're still a part of the Phantom Thieves." Takamaki brushes her hair away from her face and tucks a lock behind her ear, a Cheshire grin on her face. "And no matter what, you're still one of us!" He wishes to protest. He wants to say he had murdered Wakaba Isshiki and Kunikazu Okumura. He wants to say that _he_ is the man behind the slaughter, but-

Futaba smiles at him, clumsily yet reassuringly, and says: "Yep, I know it's hard for... us to accept you, due to what you've done. But- but it wasn't entirely your fault!" she waves her arms in the air, and Goro doesn't know what to do with this fond feeling in his chest. "I know it's you who did it, but... weren't those Shido's orders?"  
Sumire adjusts her glasses and smiles. "Akechi-kun, it is due to you and Amamiya-senpai I could embrace my true self and lead my life the way Kasumi had wanted me to. So please, Akechi-kun... please never think we take you for granted." (Alright, he is currently on the verge of a heart attack. The girl looks like a puppy or something.)

"And... even though you did bother Sis, you helped us a lot back then, in Shido's palace. So I'm sure you were of use in Maruki's palace, as well."  
Okumura stands still, quiet, but looming at him. Her gaze does not seem displeased, so Akechi deems himself safe for now.

"Yeah, dude! You're one of us! One of the phantom thieves!"  
"I thought you might have an eye for art, Akechi. Thus I had wanted to handpaint you a coffee mug, as by our leader's suggestion."

_Leader's?_

Ren has seemed to unpack the bag Takamaki has previously given him, and now he holds a magnificent cake in front of Goro. It is covered in ruby-reds, off-whites, navy blues; the frosting on top looks like a mix of cream and meringue; there was a fondant drawing, which looked more of a coffee-froth kind of illustration, of a crow. The other young man smiles and laughs so innocuously something begins to stir and bubble in Akechi's heart. He is eighteen now.

"Happy birthday, Goro. Welcome home."

**Author's Note:**

> @mugemugemoo talk me pwease


End file.
